


The Greatest Story Ever Told

by msalexiscriss



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Emotional, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reminiscing, Romance, Years Later, very emotional
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 15:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16663381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msalexiscriss/pseuds/msalexiscriss
Summary: Magnus and Alec used to be a couple, they used to be happy, but one day Alec was forced to make a big decision and had to leave, breaking up with Magnus and giving up on all of his dreams in the process. Six years later, the universe decided that it was time for their paths to cross again. There’s a lot of pain in their hearts and wounds that need to be healed, butcan this reunion mean a second chance for them? Can they pick up their relationship from where they left it all those years ago despite all the pain, or is it really too late for this story to be told?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [likemybonfireheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/likemybonfireheart/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, people!!! I'm back with a new short story!!! I don't know why, but I'm pretty inspired at the moment, so expect a lot of Malec in the next few weeks. I'll be posting new stories—one shots and short multi-chapter ones—and of course, I'll also update Looking For You!!! The next chapter, CH7, is long and !!!!!!—that's all I can say without spoiling it. Anyway, just know that I'm going big, so I hope you like what I have in store for y'all. But let's start my little Malec fest with this story, shall we??
> 
> This one was written as a birthday gift for my dear, dear friend, Chris (bonfireart both on tumblr and twitter) so, Chris, I really hope you like this story. It's not my usual style, angst isn't my thing (or maybe it is lol), but as I told you yesterday, it _has_ a happy ending, so happy birthday, my friend!!! I think I said something similar last year, but you truly are one of the sweetest, most talented, and most supportive people I've had the pleasure of meeting and I couldn't be more grateful to call you my friend. Thank you for always being there for me!!! I hope you have the happiest of birthdays!!! I love you!!!

**Prologue**

Alec was walking down the streets of New York, he had only been back in the city for a week after six years of absence and he was still trying to reconnect with the city. So much had changed over the years that he had been away, that he felt like a stranger, another one of the millions of tourists who crowded the streets of the city every day, even though he had been born and raised there.

All his favorite places had closed or had simply turned into something else. Some of the restaurants he had once loved and that had witnessed thousands of dates with his ex-boyfriend were still open, but unfortunately, they didn’t look the same as before. The city and its streets didn’t look the same—he didn’t look the same.

He sighed, taking one last look at what used to be his favorite independent bookstore and now was another CVS, and resumed his walking, heading towards his brother Max's tiny shoe-box apartment. He was currently staying with him while he found a place for himself. Max, who after finishing high school had decided that Idris—that small country in the middle of Europe that nobody knew about—wasn’t for him, had decided to apply for NYU, Alec’s Alma Mater, and had moved back to their hometown. Alec had promised to visit thousands of times in the three years that his brother had been in the city, but it hadn't been until he had decided that he had had enough of his old life, that he had actually fulfilled his promise.

A street musician started playing a cover of one of Frank Sinatra’s songs and Alec stopped dead in his tracks to listen to the beautiful melody and the soulful voice that the man had. That hadn’t changed about New York, music was still a part of it, and Alec couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity of the feeling. No matter where you went, music was something that New York always had for you. And Alec had been needing that, he had been needing something known, something that hadn’t changed so much.

He sat on a bench near the musician to still be able to listen to his music, but also get a glimpse of the East River. There were far more beautiful places in the city to look at, but as he had said before, he needed the familiarity of what hadn't changed—the remains of the city he had once loved and left behind.

Coming back had been hard enough for him, but finding the city so different from what he remembered had definitely made things worse. However, being back here, in this now strange city, had been something he had had to do for himself. Back when he was younger and life seemed easier, he had wanted to become a best-selling author, he had majored in English Literature to do just that, but then...well, then stuff had happened and he had been forced to give up on all his dreams—being a renowned writer one of them.

But now here he was, back in New York and with two advanced copies of his first novel in his bag. He knew he was six years late and couldn't have back the life he had once had here, much less achieve all those dreams and goals he had set for himself when he was younger, but there were some things that were still under his control and he was determined to get them, starting with becoming the writer he had always wanted to be.

A text from his brother interrupted his reverie. _“I’m home, where are you? I want my copy of your book! You promised me that I would be the first one to read it!”_

Alec chuckled. _“I’m on my way,”_ he replied, _“got a bit held back, but I’ll be there in 10.”_

Alec got up from the bench and started to walk to the nearest subway station to head home. And just when he was walking down the stairs with the usual horde of people trying to catch the train before it left, he crashed into some poor guy who was on his way out, causing him to throw some of the papers he was holding onto the floor.

“I’m so sorry.” Alec hastened to say, quickly kneeling to pick up the papers for him. He knew that that kind of behavior wasn’t standard for a regular New Yorker—if you crashed into someone, it was their fault, not yours, they should have been more careful—but Alec was truly a stranger in this city at the moment and, therefore, he acted like one.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” The man said, and suddenly Alec’s world stopped spinning.

He knew that voice almost as much as he knew his own. It was Magnus’s.

“Magnus…” He whispered with shock as he looked up at the man—looked up at Magnus. Magnus Bane, aka his first love, his ex-boyfriend, the man of his dreams, the love of his life, his one true love, but also the man he had abandoned six years ago.

“Alexander…” Magnus said. There was surprise and something else that Alec couldn’t quite decipher in his voice. “You’re here.” He added.

“Hmmm, yeah, I-I...” Alec said, trying to calm down a bit and also to refrain himself from doing something stupid like throwing himself at Magnus's arms, kiss him, and beg for his forgiveness. It was kind of a surreal experience to have Magnus, his Magnus, standing right in front of him after all these years. “I came back a week ago.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

The encounter between them was awkward, not to mention that it was exactly what Alec had been trying to avoid since he had returned to the city. Not because he hadn’t wanted to see Magnus again, there was nothing else in the world that he wanted more than to see his ex-boyfriend’s beautiful face again, but things were complicated between them and he knew it. They were no longer part of each other’s lives, and Alec had to admit that he had feared Magnus’s reaction the moment he saw that Alec was back in the city that they had once said they would conquer together. Alec was well aware of what he had done, of the pain he had caused, and knew that Magnus probably hated him, so when he had set foot in New York again, he had decided that it was best not to look for him. It wasn’t fair to Magnus, Alec couldn’t just walk back into his life after all these years and hope that everything was as before. He knew that he had arrived six years too late for that.

“Oh, wow, it’s been so long.” Magnus said. He looked a bit uncomfortable and unsettled, as if he was still recovering from meeting with Alec again after all these years; and Alec didn’t blame him for that, he felt uncomfortable too, but for very different reasons.

“I…” Magnus added, quickly glancing at his watch, “I have a meeting I’m already late for, but do you want to maybe catch up? It’s really been so long.” He said.

Alec was surprised for a second. For years, he had pictured this moment in his head and in all of the scenarios he had imagined and re-imagined, Magnus either yelled at him for what he had done to him or straight up ignored him, letting his silence speak for himself and making it clear that he wanted nothing to do with him. _But this scenario?_ This scenario was unexpected.

“Sure.” Alec said unsure if he had imagined the whole thing or not, because if he was honest with himself, this was too good to be true.

“How long are you staying?” Magnus asked, but didn’t give Alec the opportunity to respond because he immediately added, “never mind, are you free today? What about tonight? At my place sounds okay?”

“Hmmm, yeah.” Alec said.

It was too soon and it only gave Alec a few hours to prepare his apology speech and get himself mentally ready to learn what had really been of Magnus’s life in all these years they had been apart, but it wasn’t as if he was in a position to demand anything, not really.

Magnus quickly grabbed a piece of paper from his satchel, scribbled an address, and handed it to Alec.

“8 p.m., don’t be late.” He said and walked out of the subway station, leaving Alec standing there, in the middle of the stairs, with a racing heart, a note with an address to some place in Brooklyn Heights, and a promise to see Magnus again.

 

**Chapter 1**

Alec looked up at the impressive and quite luxurious facade of the building where Magnus lived and a lump formed in his throat. Back when they were young and a happy and very naive couple, they had talked about many goals and dreams they had wanted to achieve together and one of them—besides adopting a cat and one day having a big happy family—had been buying an expensive and luxurious apartment in Brooklyn with the best view of the city skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. And it seemed that Magnus had, after all, achieved that dream for himself. Alec hadn’t seen the actual view from the place yet, but in the address Magnus had given him it said: Penthouse #1; so that only meant that his home was at the top of the building and Alec could already see it having the best view of the bridge and the city—just as they had once dreamed their future home would have.

“Shit…” Alec whispered, hesitating whether to enter or not.

Maybe being there wasn’t a good idea for any of them. Magnus didn’t know it, but despite everything, Alec hadn’t stopped loving him—not a second in all these years—and no matter how much he had told himself that it was pointless. He had left Magnus and hurt him a lot in the process, he had deliberately lost him. But for some reason, his heart had refused to let go of that feeling. And, in fact, it had been the love he still felt for him what had ultimately helped him make the decision to take control of his life again and do what he wanted to do for himself, and not for other people.

The doorman looked at him suspiciously from inside the building. Alec knew that he was surely wondering what Alec was doing there, standing by the main entrance of the building, but not actually entering when it was freezing cold outside.

Alec took a deep breath, gathered all the courage he had left and decided that he couldn’t miss the chance to—although six years later—apologize to Magnus for what had happened all those years ago and ask for his forgiveness. He knew that that wasn’t going to solve or change anything between them, nor did he have any expectations for that whatsoever, but at least it was going to give Alec the closure he needed and some kind of peace with himself. So he took another deep breath, climbed up the few stairs that separated him from the door and opened it, heading for the front desk.

The doorman eyed him suspiciously again, but tried to be polite. “Are you here to visit someone or to deliver something?” He asked.

“Visit,” Alec said, a bit nervous, “hmmm, penthouse number one—Mr. Bane. My name is Alexander Lightwood, he’s expecting me.”

“I’m going to need an ID, Mr. Lightwood.” The man said.   

“Of course,” Alec said, taking his identification from his wallet and giving it to the doorman.

“Okay, all good.” The man said. “The elevators are over there.” He added, pointing to the far left side of the lobby.

“Thank you.” Alec said, walking with determination toward the elevators.

There was no turning back now. Most likely, the doorman was calling Magnus right this second to inform him that he was there, so he had no choice but to go up there and face him again. Even if the uncertainty of what to expect from tonight scared him to death.

The doors of the very fancy elevator opened and Alec pressed the button that would take him to the top floor, it was a 10-story ride, so he took advantage of the few minutes he still had to prepare himself for what was to come. He was about to find out for sure what had been of Magnus’s life in all these years. _Was he married? Did he have a husband or wife? Kids? Was he living with someone? Was he divorced? Single?_ Alec knew that he had become a renowned fashion designer and had his own brand, _‘Bane,’_ just as he had once dreamed; he also knew that he was very successful. Alec had seen him on the cover of an international fashion magazine a few months ago, and, in fact, seeing him there had been the reason why he had decided that he couldn't keep living the life he had been living and had decided to leave Idris to have a chance to pursue his own dreams too. He had called a friend of his family who knew the head of a publishing house in New York, had sent her the manuscript of his novel—the one he had written over the years and was inspired by his love for Magnus—and the rest was history. They had signed him on the spot and had given him a 20,000 copies deal. He had packed his things, quit his job, and moved back to his hometown to be the writer he had always wanted to be.

The elevator doors opened and Alec immediately saw the door of Magnus’s penthouse, so a bit nervous, he walked towards it and knocked, waiting for Magnus—or his partner, for that matter—to open the door. He wasn’t being a pessimist or anything like that with the partner thing, it was just that for him it made sense that Magnus was with someone. He was famous, extremely handsome, generous, caring, funny, and overall perfect. Someone must have seen that during all these years and done what Alec hadn't been able to do—make him happy.

“Alexander, hi! I’m glad you decided to come.” Magnus said with a sincere smile when he opened the door. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to see you again. Please, come in.” He added, moving from the frame so that Alec could walk into his home.

Alec entered the place and was immediately surprised, not only by the fact that he had been right about the more than spectacular view that this place had to offer, but that the whole penthouse was beautifully decorated with things that Alec himself would have bought if given the chance. It was like walking into a place that felt like his home, even though he knew it wasn’t—and never would be.

“You have a beautiful home.” Alec said.

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“Here, I brought you this.” Alec said, handing Magnus the bottle of wine he had brought with him tonight.

The ghost of a smile appeared on Magnus’s lips. “My favorite,” he said, “you remembered.”

Alec wanted to tell him that of course he remembered, that he remembered everything about him—how he liked his coffee black and with too much sugar in it, although he usually drank tea in the morning and, for that, he preferred honey; how whiskey was his favorite drink for when he was sad or angry, but that wine was always a good replacement; how he had a sweet tooth, although he swore he didn’t; how he loved to travel and get to know new places, but complained all the time about not having enough time or money to do it more often; how much it bothered him being interrupted when he spoke and how ridiculously meticulous his morning routine was; how much he hated when Alec left the bathroom door closed after taking a shower because that made the mirror fog up and Magnus liked to put on his makeup in the bathroom where the light was better, and hated with a burning passion to have to put it on with a pocket mirror somewhere else—but instead, he just smiled back and continued observing the place.

“May I take your coat?” Magnus asked politely. It was very obvious, at least for Alec, that he was trying really hard to be a good host even though he seemed to be a bit out of his comfort zone with Alec there.

“It’s okay,” Alec said, taking off his coat on his own and hanging it himself. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for a more close contact between them. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to control himself this time, and he didn’t want to do that to Magnus—not after what he had done to him all those years ago. So keeping a safe distance from the man seemed like the smartest thing to do.

“Then, please make yourself at home, I’ll go fetch us some glasses for the wine.” Magnus said, disappearing down a hall and into what Alec assumed was the kitchen.

Alec took a seat by the nearest couch and looked around. The view and ambience of this wonderful place sent a wave of sadness that almost caused him to shed a tear or two. It hurt him to see how familiar this place seemed to him even though he had never been here before. He didn’t know why, but he could see himself living here with Magnus, their cat scratching their elegant couch, and their little kids staining the new carpet with grape juice or drawing with crayons on the walls. He knew that this could have been his home, his life—if he hadn’t decided to go be the man his family needed him to be, exchanging for that his dreamed future with Magnus.

Magnus reentered the room and placed two glasses on the coffee table, quickly opening the bottle that Alec had brought and pouring them some wine. “To the old times.” Magnus said, handing a glass to Alec and raising the other as if to toast with him. He seemed comfortable now, as if that trip to the kitchen had helped him relax or something.

Alec just smiled and limited himself to raise his glass because the wine and the confident smile on Magnus’s face were making him go back in time and that hurt—a lot. He didn’t know what to do with the turmoil of emotions he felt inside. Seeing Magnus again, being with him, even if it was just for a friendly dinner, was something he never—in his wildest dreams—thought would happen. In fact, he never thought he would be back in New York at all.

“You look good.” Magnus said, being his usual confident and easy-talking guy. “I like the stubble and the glasses.” He added.

“Thank you.” Alec said, trying really hard not to blush at the sudden compliment, although he wasn’t sure if that was something he could actually control. “You look good too. Your hair…”

“You like it?” Magnus asked, slightly touching his very styled hair. “You know I always need a little change in my life. I get bored easily.”

“I know and yes, I like it.” Alec said sincerely. Magnus was sporting a Mohawk and it did look good on him—really good if Alec was completely honest. “It makes you look both bold and young.” He dared to say.

“I’m glad to hear that, I’m getting closer to thirty, so the younger I look, the better.”

Alec chuckled, he was getting closer to thirty too and although Magnus’s birthday was definitely closer than his—less than a month away—he could certainly relate to the feeling. Especially because unlike Magnus, in the last six years of his life, he hadn’t been really living the life he had always wanted for himself, he had only been doing what other people had wanted him to do.

“But tell me,” Magnus continued, “how’s your family? How are they all doing?”

“They all are okay, thanks for asking.” Alec smiled, glad that Magnus had thought of his family and wanted to know if they all were okay. They had been together for a little over four years before everything went to hell, so he had hoped his ex-boyfriend hadn’t forgotten about them, but there was always the slight chance that he had. Even if it had only been out of spite.

“I’m glad to hear that, and little Max? He must be so big right now...he must be a man.”

Alec nodded. “He turned 21 this year.”

“Wow…” Magnus exclaimed, “we’re getting old. When I first met him he was, what? 10 about to turn 11?”

Alec nodded. Magnus had met Alec’s family—including his then baby brother Max—the moment they had become an official couple back when the two had met in college. They had fallen in love way too fast and made everything official even faster, despite the fact that both their families weren’t 100% okay with their budding relationship. But they hadn’t cared, they knew what they had and had even rented a crappy apartment together to survive college, because somehow, college, living with the love of your life, sounded ten times better than without him.

“And Isabelle and Jace? What became of them?”

“Isabelle became a forensic anthropologist and Jace is, well...Jace went into the family business as well.”

“Isabelle’s a forensic anthropologist? I could have sworn that she would become a top-model. I would have hired her on the spot.”

Alec smiled. “Don’t tell her that or she’ll accept your offer without thinking twice. She wouldn’t mind putting the science on hold for a couple of years just to be your model.”

“Do you remember when she helped me on my first fashion show in college?” Magnus smiled. “She was my best model. I thought she was a natural that’s why I assumed she would become one...she was beautiful. I can only imagine that she’s even more beautiful now. You, the Lightwoods, have quite the genes.”

Alec blushed.

“But keep telling me about them and about you, I want to know what’s been of all of you.” He said. “How’s the business going? Is dear Maryse as lovely as she used to be?” Magnus asked sarcastically. Alec’s mother had been a bit of a challenge for them back when they had been together.

“She’s softened over the years.” Alec confessed. “She met a guy, Luke, and that helped.”

“That’s good to know, and Robert?”

“Well, he’s still as annoying as ever.” Alec said, thinking about his father.

“I wasn’t expecting anything less from him to be honest, but come on, start talking, I really wanna know everything there is to know about all of you.” Magnus said.

And just like that, Alec began to tell him what had been of him and his family in the past six years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **By decree of the birthday girl, the next chapter will be up in 3 hours, that is, at 12 p.m. EST ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus was trying, really trying to act normal and make this reunion a little less uncomfortable for them, but it was a difficult task—if not impossible. On the one hand, the elephant in the room was clearly there, sitting right next to them and trumpeting loudly just to be noticed. There were a lot of unsaid things going on between them and that was killing him. He had so many questions, so many things that he wanted to ask about them, about what had happened (or not) six years ago, but Alec wasn’t exactly making things easy for him. Magnus had been trying to ask him questions about him, about his life, but the man had been deflecting them all like a pro, only sharing stuff that Magnus himself could have found with a quick and efficient search on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

It had been a long time since the last time they had seen each other and he really wanted to know what had become of Alec’s life, even if that made him relive and unearth all the things that had taken him years to forget or bury very deep within himself.

“But enough about me,” Alec said, though Magnus had no idea why the man had said that if he had spent almost an hour talking and talking about his siblings and friends in Idris and hadn’t said a single thing about himself, “what’s been of your life?” He asked curiously. “I heard that you became a pretty famous fashion designer. I mean, look at this place! And there’s a boutique of your own brand right on Fifth Avenue!” He said with enthusiasm.

Magnus smiled. The fact that Alec knew what had been of his life—at least professionally speaking—had his heart jumping up and down with joy. It showed that, although Alec had left him and all that, he still cared—even a little. “Well, you know, that was always the dream...all of it. The brand, the name, the apartment in Brooklyn.” He said, omitting the part in which Alec was part of that dream because he had always been. Since they had become a couple they had always dreamed big, but together. All this—the fame, the money, the success, and even the penthouse—had been meant to be for both of them, not just for Magnus.

Alec nodded and Magnus saw the sadness in Alec’s eyes, though he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Alec seemed to have changed over the years, he wasn't as easy to read for Magnus as he used to be.

“Do you mind if I ask you how it happened?” Alec asked, without looking up from his glass of wine.

“I would say it was sheer luck,” Magnus said, “but you’re not going to believe me, so this is what happened. A couple of months after you, well, you know? After everything happened, I started working in this retail store in Queens to be able to pay the bills. I folded sheets and tablecloths for a living for months. Anyway, one day, a very fancy lady walked in and asked for help with some tablecloths, I was the only employee around, so I helped her. She needed two hundred tablecloths for a last-minute event and was really desperate. I started selecting the best we had and suggested some combinations because, obviously, we didn't have two hundred tablecloths of the same color, we barely had all she needed in stock. And well, at some point she told me that she thought I knew too much about textures and colors to just sell stuff, so I told her that I actually had majored in fashion design at NYU. Long story short, it turned out that the fancy lady worked at Vogue magazine as an assistant to none other than the editor-in-chief, and well, after she bought all the tablecloths she needed, she told me to apply for an internship at the magazine and tell the recruiting staff that she had sent me, so I did.”

“You got an internship at Vogue magazine!?”

Magnus smiled with a nod. “I was there for a year, but then I started working as an assistant to some renowned designers in the city—Phillip Lim, Jason Wu, Alexander Wang—and when I felt confident enough to start my own brand, I quit my job and just went for it. It took me a couple of years to make a name for myself, but I did it. Now I’m not just Magnus Bane, the guy who once worked for all these other designers, I’m the man behind _‘Bane,’_ one of the most successful clothing brands in the world.”

Alec smiled so widely that Magnus could see the pride in his eyes.

“I’m so-” Alec started to say when his phone rang, interrupting him halfway through whatever he was about to say.

Alec took his phone out of his pocket to see who was calling and blushed. “I...I kind of have to take this.” He said nervously, standing up from the couch and walking to one side of the room as if to have some privacy.

“Of course,” Magnus said, trying not to think too much about what had just happened. It was something he had already thought he would have to endure tonight. It was normal. It had been years since they had broken up, it was only natural that Alec had someone else in his life. He had surely met a great guy in Idris and was happy with him. Magnus was almost certain that the reason why Alec had gotten so nervous with that call was because either his boyfriend didn’t know that he was currently having dinner with his ex, or he knew it, and was just calling to check on him—as Magnus would do if he were in his place and knew their story and what had happened between them. “I’ll go check to see if the food is ready, okay?” He said to give Alec the privacy it was clear he needed.

Magnus entered the kitchen for the second time in the evening and, as he had done the first time, he leaned on the counter to take a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to keep this up. Maybe inviting Alec to his own home had been a big mistake, maybe a neutral place like a restaurant or something like that would have been better than this. Because having him here, in such close proximity, was making him feel things that he thought he had left in the past.

Six years ago, when Alec had decided to go with his family to Idris leaving Magnus behind, he had been left devastated. It had taken him a lot of effort and bottles of whiskey to get over him, but now that they were face to face again, it was as if no time had passed at all and they were back where they had left off. And Magnus hated that, he hated that because it was only now that he had Alec in front of him again that he realized something that he must have realized years ago: that he still loved him. Despite the time, despite the heartbreak, and despite all the unanswered questions, he still loved him.

He had had other lovers since Alec had left, trying to find in them what he had found in the young man, but it had never worked. Unfortunately, he had always seen them as replacements, mere second bests, and that had really affected his dating life. All of them—Axel, Etta, Imasu, Camille—hadn’t been Alec. Nobody could be Alec.

“Oh God…” He whispered, realizing that inviting Alec here tonight had, indeed, been a big, big mistake.

But he hadn't been able to avoid it. The moment he had seen him again, he had wanted nothing more than to bring him here. He had wanted Alec to see that he had made their dream of having a place in Brooklyn with all the stuff they had once said that they wanted to have a reality. He had wanted him to see that he had found the perfect the place with the great view that young-Alec had said he wanted their future home to have, so that he could sit on their balcony and write while watching the skyline of his favorite city in the world.

Tears welled up in Magnus’s eyes, but he quickly grabbed a napkin and stopped them from falling. He couldn't ruin his makeup, much less let Alec see the effect he still—after all these years—had on him. He had to be stronger than he had been six years ago.

“Breathe, Magnus, breathe.” He encouraged himself, trying, while Alec was still on the phone, to compose himself. “Just breathe...everything will be fine. It’s just a dinner. It’s just a dinner.” He reassured himself.

He checked the oven and decided it was time to get everything to the table. Alec was still on the phone, but Magnus couldn’t really hear him, just a couple of words here and there as he came and went from the kitchen. So he started setting the table for them to have dinner, taking the plates, the glasses, and everything else they were going to need, little by little.

 _“I know…”_ Magnus heard Alec tell whoever he was talking to on the phone on one of the occasions he made the trip from the dining room to the kitchen. He sounded annoyed as if he had been saying the same thing over and over again.

Magnus shrugged and reentered the kitchen, grabbing the rest of the things left to set on the table and making sure to take his time so that Alec could finish his call. But just as he was about to walk out of the kitchen for the last time, he heard it. What was breaking his heart all over again, but what he had been needing to know tonight to be able to build up his walls again and stop second guessing everything Alec said or did.

_“Yes, don’t worry. I'll see you later tonight, I love you too.” Alec said._

Magnus knew that he had been a fool to think that maybe they could turn back time and just pick up their relationship where they had left it six years ago. Just as he had been a fool back then, when, in fact, they had been a couple, and he had thought they were destined to be together forever. When the plan was that when they both graduated from college, they would get a job in the city, they would look for a bigger and better place to live, and they would be happily ever after. But none of that had happened. Yes, they had graduated and for a minute it all seemed like a dream come true, but then...then, Alec’s family had come to town and everything had gone to hell faster than it had taken Magnus to ask why. Alec’s mother had arrived bearing the news of an impending divorce and a new position that Alec had to assume in the family business in Idris as the new head of the family. And Alec had left, just like that. He had broken up with Magnus, packed his bags and left, leaving Magnus with a broken heart and all his dreams completely crushed.

Alec hung up the phone and turned around, smiling at Magnus. Magnus smiled back, although deep down he was trying to assimilate the new information he had learned about Alec and getting used to—once again—live with it. He had overcome the fact of not being with Alec once, he had already pictured his life without him in it, this was no different from what he had been doing all these years.

“Well, just in time, dinner’s ready.” Magnus said, giving him his best fake smile.

Alec walked to the table and gasped. “Wow!” He exclaimed. “Did you cook all this?” He asked surprised.

“Don’t give me that tone, you know I’ve always been a good cook.” Magnus said modestly.

“Well, yeah, but not a gourmet cook.” Alec said. “This looks way too fancy, one of your many pasta recipes would have been more than enough for tonight.”

“I took a few lessons at some point down the line to up my game in the kitchen department, I got bored of pasta.”

“I always loved your pasta.”

“I know…” Magnus said. “But anyway, please take a seat, I’ll go find us some more wine. I'm afraid we've already finished the bottle you brought.” He added.

Alec sat down, and Magnus, taking a new bottle from his special cabinet, poured them more wine, taking a seat across the table right in front of Alec. Now that he knew with absolute certainty that Alec was with someone, it was somehow easier for him to relax and start meaningless conversations with the man. Because now he was 100% sure that no matter what he felt, no matter how many questions he had and wanted to finally hear the answers to. It was late for them—six years too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The next chapter will be up in 3 hours ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Alec wasn’t sure what was going on, but they were having so much fun together. At first, the evening had been a bit uncomfortable with both of them trying to navigate through the night without bringing what had happened between them all those years ago to the table, but they had been talking nonsense since dinner had started and somehow, it felt like before. Like way back when they had first moved together to their crappy apartment and all they did—after getting enough of each other under the sheets, of course—was talk, and drink, and laugh, and drink again for hours and hours and hours.

Magnus was telling him all about the secrets behind the fashion world and the thousands of adventures he had lived with his friends ever since his life had changed with the fame that, having his own brand, had brought him. Alec, obviously, already knew some of the people he was talking about; Catarina and Ragnor had been Magnus’s friends since middle school, so he had met them enough times in the past to know how they were and why, despite the radical change that Magnus’s life had had with fame, they were still part of his life to this day. But Raphael, Tessa, Jem, and all the others Magnus kept mentioning in his stories were completely new to him.

“Do you have pictures of your other friends?” Alec asked. “I would like to meet them. Put a face to the names and all that.”

“Of course, I have thousands! My phone is full of them, but wait-” Magnus said, standing from the table, “I’m going to show you the good ones, not the ones on my phone, those are boring. There’s a box.”

“A box?” Alec asked curiously.

“Yes, a box with embarrassing pictures of all of them that I’m sure you’re going to love. Also, those are going to let you see more clearly why I love these people so much. They’re a bunch of freaks, just like Ragnor and Cat.” Magnus said.

Alec knew that Magnus was already a bit tipsy and that was why he was so open about showing him those intimate pictures of his friends, but Alec didn’t care. He wanted to make the most of tonight with Magnus, he had a hunch that it would really be the last time he would be with him. Magnus had been, although very friendly and polite, also very distant and detached with him tonight. It was clear that he was way over Alec and wasn’t interested in anything he had or wanted to say about the past. This dinner had really been just a friendly invitation to catch up with their lives—what anyone would have done if they had reunited with someone who had once been an important part of their life.

“Okay.” Alec said, smiling.  

Magnus walked to one of the many rooms in the penthouse and quickly returned carrying a big black box. He was grinning like a little kid on Christmas Eve as he motioned for Alec to follow him to the couch.

They sat together and Magnus immediately opened the box, showing him all the embarrassing pictures he had of his friends. There were literally thousands of them and Alec laughed with each and every one of them, especially when Magnus shared the stories behind them. All his new friends—the ones Alec hadn’t met—sounded incredible, even that Raphael guy, who seemed to enjoy teasing Magnus as much as he enjoyed breathing.

“Oh look at this!” Alec said, taking a picture out of the box. It was a picture of Catarina, Ragnor, and Magnus back in middle school, they were hugging like a human sandwich and their smiles were so bright they were almost blinding. “How come I’d never seen this picture before? You all look so cute, look at those cheeks!”

Magnus smiled. “Ragnor found it like two years ago and gave it to me as a Christmas present. This is the original, but I got it resized and put that copy in my studio. It’s framing one of the walls. It's one of my favorite pictures ever.”

“It’s beautiful, you all look so cute and were so young.” Alec smiled, and took another picture from the box. This one was of Catarina and Magnus alone. They were together in what appeared to be a Halloween party and were wearing matching costumes.

Alec immediately recognized the place where the picture had been taken: the living room of their old apartment. So he tried to pay more attention to all the details and his smile died. Not only because it was, indeed, their old apartment and in the background it was clear that not only a Halloween party was taking place, but also a big move; but because it seemed that the picture had been taken just a couple of weeks after Alec had left, which meant that Magnus hadn’t been able to stay in the place they had once called their home for more than two weeks after Alec’s departure.

Alec stayed a couple of seconds just looking at his old home, the place where he had spent the happiest four years of his whole life, and trying not to get emotional.

“I…” Magnus said nervously and trying to grab the picture from Alec’s hand, but Alec moved a little to his right to prevent him from doing so. He still wasn’t finished with the picture. His eyes were now focused on Catarina and Magnus’s matching costumes.

They were dressed as clowns, one sad and one happy—Cat as the happy one, Magnus as the sad one. But that was not what completely destroyed Alec. No, it was the fact that both had a sign hanging from their necks with a legend written on them. Catarina’s said, _“I got laid,”_ and Magnus said, _“I got dumped.”_

“I’m so sorry, Alec,” Magnus said, “I didn’t know that this picture was here.” He added. “It was a stupid thing that Ragnor came up with for that Halloween, I was moping because of what had happened and he thought-”

“You must hate me.” Alec said because he knew it. He could see it in Magnus’s eyes in that picture—all the pain and suffering he had caused him.

“I don’t,” Magnus said, “but I did.” He confessed.

Alec looked up from the picture.

“I hated you so much,” Magnus continued, but he wasn’t looking at Alec, he had his eyes fixed on the picture, as if he was reliving the moment, “I turned all the love I had for you into absolute hatred. It was a very dark time for me. I hated you so much for leaving me, for ruining us, but above all, I hated you because you hadn’t even given me the chance to say anything—to make my own choice. You just broke up with me and left.” He sighed, finally looking up. “I would have gone with you, you know? I would have gone with you to the end of the world if necessary.” He whispered, and Alec saw the tiny gleam in his eyes, which only meant one thing—that he was trying hard to keep his tears at bay.

“I know.” Alec said because he had always known that.

“So you didn’t want me there with you?” Magnus said in a chuckle, but there was a lot of pain in his eyes.

“Of course I did, there was nothing I wanted more, but I knew it wasn’t fair to you.” Alec said. “I knew you wouldn’t get to achieve all your dreams in Idris, I knew you wouldn't get all this,” he added, pointing around to make a statement of what Magnus would have missed had he gone with him, “if I had asked you to come with me.”

Magnus chuckled again, but this time that pain had turned into anger. Alec knew him too well to notice the difference. “Well, Alec,” Magnus said, standing up from the couch, “that’s the bitter and maybe ironic part of this story. I didn’t want all this without you. Yes, having this place and becoming who I am today was part of my personal dream, but you were my dream too, what we had was my ultimate dream. All this stuff, the fame, the money, the prestige, were just silly things that I wanted to share with you. I got everything but you, so as you can see, I didn’t achieve my dream here either.” He said, turning around.

“I’m sorry.” Alec whispered because that was all he could say. He knew he had screwed up, big time. That thought had been haunting him for years and it was the reason why he hadn’t tried to find Magnus again. He knew that the man would never forgive him for what he had done—Alec hadn't forgiven himself yet.

“I know you are.” Magnus said, turning around again. He was now composed and in complete control of himself again. That had always been his specialty—he had the ability to build up his walls in the blink of an eye, but Alec also knew that those seemingly thick and impenetrable walls could be climbed with the right words. And tonight, Alec was determined to, if necessary, tear them down just so Magnus knew how really sorry he was about everything.

“I mean it, Magnus.” Alec said. “I know I hurt you and that there’s no way you can forgive me, but please know that I’m sorry. I’m very, very sorry for everything. There’s not been a single day since the day I walked out on you that I don’t want to go back in time and do things differently. Stay here with you, make all our dreams come true, have that family we once dreamed of...”

Magnus chuckled again. Alec knew that his sarcastic persona was taking over the helm, in an attempt, perhaps, to protect his heart again from the person who had hurt it the most: Alec. “Well, it’s too late now, don’t you think?” He said bitterly. “You are with someone and-”

“I’m not.” Alec said. He had no idea where Magnus had gotten that information from. They hadn’t talked about their romantic lives all night, both probably dreading this moment, but he wasn’t with anyone. He couldn't be with anyone.

“Alec, please, I heard you, okay? You don’t need to hide him to spare my feelings. He called you before dinner. You said you loved him, it’s fine. I get it. It’s been too long since we broke up, it’s okay. More than okay.”

“Of course it’s okay because I do love him, I will always love him...he’s my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“Max. I told you before that he’s in college. He lives in the city. He’s studying at NYU and, in fact, I’m staying with him while I find a place for myself. Today was a strange day for me for a lot of reasons and when I got home after we met at the subway station, he noticed that something was up and asked me what had happened. I didn’t tell him that I had seen you again, of course, I just told him that I had a dinner to attend. I didn’t want him—or anyone from my family for that matter—to know where I was. They also hate me for what I did to you.”

Magnus looked at him.

“Max figured out where I was. He was tracking my phone and somehow, he knows that you live in this building, so he asked me—not very politely—not to hurt you again, but apparently that’s all I can do.” Alec sighed. “So I think it’s better if I just go.” He said, standing up and walking to grab his coat.

He couldn’t do this, not again. Magnus deserved better. No, Magnus already had better. He had a great life and Alec wasn’t going to ruin it again.

“Alec, wait!” Magnus said. “Are you really alone?”

Alec nodded. “There hasn’t been anyone since you, not really.” He confessed, putting on his coat to leave. “I tried to meet people, I tried to stick to the decision I had made and give my heart to someone else, but it turned out that I didn’t have a heart to give—that’s been yours all this time.” He said, taking out from the pocket inside his coat a package containing one of the two advanced copies of his book he had received today, and left it on the small table that Magnus had by the door. “I hope you like it.” He added. “I know I'm too late for a lot of things, but I’m trying to make some of my dreams come true—even when I know I can't have the life I once dreamed.” He said, walking out of the penthouse without giving Magnus the chance to say anything at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The last chapter will be up in 3 hours ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Magnus stood there, standing in the middle of his living room, as if in some sort of trance. Listening to Alec’s own version of their story had left him speechless. It was clear that his ex-boyfriend knew that he had screwed up, that he was well aware of how much he had hurt Magnus, but now Magnus was thinking that maybe he himself hadn’t tried hard enough. He was thinking that maybe he shouldn’t have given up on them so easily, that he should have taken the first flight to Europe to go to that goddamned country that Alec’s family had forced him to go and stay with him no matter what anyone said—even Alec himself. He was thinking that maybe he should have gone after him.

Shaking his head to snap himself back to reality, Magnus walked over to the table where Alec had left a package and quickly opened it. It was an advanced copy of a book written by none other than A.G. Lightwood—Alexander Gideon Lightwood. It was called, _“The Greatest Story Ever Told.”_ The cover was very simple, but still very symbolic. In the center of it were the silhouettes of two men holding hands with the skyline of New York City—as seen from Brooklyn—in the background; in their little fingers both had a red thread that, if you followed closely through the cover, connected them. Like that Japanese variation of the ancient Chinese legend of the red thread of fate. According to what Magnus could remember of that legend, it said that the gods tied an invisible red thread between two people who were destined to meet one another and who would have an important story together—regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The red thread could contract, get tangled, or stretched, but it could never break. And this thread was clearly contracted, tangled, and stretched, but it remained intact, even when a small cat in the lower right corner of the cover was playing with it.

Magnus’s heart almost jumped out of his chest with all the little hints to their story together that he could find in just a simple cover, so with trembling hands, he opened the book and read the dedication.

_“To the man who inspired this story—you will always be the love of my life, the man of my dreams, and my one true love. I’m sorry I hurt you. I know I made all the wrong choices and couldn’t give our beautiful love story the happy ending it deserved, but I made sure that these characters got it for us.”_

A single tear ran down Magnus’s cheek, leaving a black stain on the clearly freshly printed page.

He quickly skimmed through the book, reading bits and pieces to get a general idea of what it was about, but it didn’t take him long to realize that it was really inspired by their story. A retelling of the moment they had met in the halls of NYU could be read in the prologue, and in the first few chapters, the characters moved together to a very cheap apartment in Queens, which marked the beginning of their life together. Obviously, what Alec had used as inspiration for the story didn't reflect exactly what they had experienced as a couple, but it was pretty obvious to Magnus where the inspiration for each and every word written in this book had come from. The characters weren’t called Magnus and Alec because that would have been too obvious, but they did share their same initials—M and A—and, unlike them, Alec had made sure that these two—Marcus and Ashton—did get their happy ending. The last page of the book read:

> _"And with the sunset and the skyline of the city gleaming in the background and casting shadows on his gorgeous face, I watch him drink in the sight of what over the years had become our special spot in the city, our bridge._
> 
> _He is smiling. Smiling that same smile that for some inconceivable reason, I've been lucky enough to see every morning in the last ten years._
> 
> _It's kind of weird when I think about all the time we’ve been together. Since I met him, it's felt as if time had stopped completely, or as if it had just started to pass—sometimes I don't know if it's one or the other—but what I do know is that all these years with him by my side have been the best years of my life. They have been full of adventures, of good times and bad times, of fights and arguments, of challenges and obstacles, of surprises and new experiences, but above all of love—of a lot of love._
> 
> _When we started dating, everyone doubted that it was going to last. My father even used to say that it was impossible that someone like me—whatever that meant—could end up with someone like him, that our differences would end up separating us one day. But what he didn't know, what all those people who once doubted that we could work as a couple didn't know, is that those differences were, and still are, what we love most about us. That even though we are completely different and always will be, we complement each other. Like two pieces of a puzzle that, despite their differences in shape and color, just...fit._
> 
> _“What are you thinking about?” He asks me, eying me curiously. His smile making me weak to my knees. He’s always had that effect on me._
> 
> _“How much I love you.” I say sincerely._
> 
> _“And people say that romance is dead.” He smiles warmly._
> 
> _I smile too. “What can I say? You bring out the best in me.”_
> 
> _“I think we bring out the best in each other.” He says, and I smile again because it’s true._
> 
> _Ever since we met, ever since we looked at each other for the first time in that crowded hallway, we knew that for some reason none of us could explain, we were meant to be. That being together made sense. That our kind of love and connection was what authors tried to capture in their books, but never really managed to get right. And that some day, if we were lucky enough to overcome all the obstacles that tend to be on the so-called path to happiness, our story would be what people would describe as the greatest love story ever told._
> 
> _“Do you think our story has an end?” I ask, lacing my fingers with his. The rings on his fingers quickly warming up at my touch._
> 
> _“No.” He says with confidence._
> 
> _I smile. I really appreciate the confidence in his ‘no,’ it means that he believes, as I do, that we are here for the long run, that our love has no end. But I’ve always been the rational one in the relationship and I can’t help but be realistic and think about the future._
> 
> _“But we’ll both die someday.” I tell him. “There will be a day when there’s no ‘you and me,’ when we’re not together anymore.”_
> 
> _“I know,” he says, staring at me, “but a love like ours never dies, it transcends, even death. Amor verus numquam moritur—true love cannot die.”_
> 
> _And with those words I lean in and kiss him. He says he doesn’t, but he’s always had a way with words, even in different languages._
> 
> _“Then I love you forever.” I say with all the certainty and conviction that I possess. Because if he is right and our love is meant to transcend even death and never die, then I want him to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will love him forever._
> 
> _“I love you forever too.”_

Magnus closed the book and after a suppressed sob, wiped away the tears from his face with the back of his sleeve. Alec had really given these fictional characters the happy ending they had never had and, although that was heartbreaking, it was also beautiful. The fact that Alec thought that a love like theirs could never die made him smile and hope for a second chance...hope for a do-over for them, for their story.

But all that happiness and hope died the moment he realized that Alec had done it again. He had left without giving him the chance to say anything, to do something to change things and prevent him from leaving. So desperate, he opened the door of his home and ran to try to catch up with him in the elevator, but Alec was long gone. The elevator was going down around the seventh floor.

Magnus pressed the button to call the elevator repeatedly in an attempt to stop it, but the numbers just kept going down and down: 7, 6…5. On the verge of losing his sanity, Magnus rushed to the emergency stairs and started climbing them down in jumps of two or three steps at a time. He knew there was a good chance of him falling and breaking his neck if he kept doing that throughout all ten floors, but he didn’t really care. He had to catch up with Alec and do what he hadn’t done six years ago: prevent him from leaving.

By the time he made it to the lobby of the building, Magnus was completely out of breath. “Where is he, where is Alexander?” He asked the only person who was there: the doorman.

The man seemed really confused for a second, but then said, “oh, your visit. He just left...about a minute ago, sir.”

Magnus ran out of the building even though he wasn’t wearing a jacket and it was practically snowing outside, but this was a life or death kind of situation, so he didn't think too much about it. Alec could have left already and he wouldn’t have a way to find him again. Alec hadn’t told him exactly where Max lived, so unless he stalked NYU until he found Max—whom he wasn’t sure if he was going to recognize after all these years—Alec would be gone and this time it would be forever. But by some freaking miracle or incredible timing of the universe, Alec was there, standing on the corner of the street, waiting for the light to turn red so he could cross even though there were no cars in sight.

“You don’t get to do this again!” Magnus yelled, maybe sounding more angry than he really was. “You don’t get to say stuff like that, leave me this book, and just leave...again. Do you know how hard it’s been for me to get over you? How many incredible people I’ve met in all these years and haven’t been able to fully love because they weren’t you?”

“Magnus…”

“Don’t you dare Magnus me right now." He said, getting closer to him. "I’m not letting you do the same thing again. You don’t get to walk back into my life and leave without giving me a chance to say something, to make my own choice.”

Alec looked at him. Magnus saw that there were some tears in his eyes, but his cheeks were soaked, which meant that he had already been crying before Magnus caught up with him.

“You’re the love of my life too.” Magnus said. “I hate it, I really do because right now all I want to do is strangle you for what you put us through, but you are and probably always will be. There's not been a single day, since the day you left, that I don’t miss your smile or your horrible food or your company. There’s not been a single day when I didn’t think about what you could be doing and if you were happy without me. I don’t know how to turn back time, I wish I could do it, maybe then I, too, would have done some things differently, but I do know that I don’t want you to leave me again. Maybe we’re six years too late to try this again, maybe we're not, but I believe in what you wrote here,” he added, shaking the book he still held in his hand, “a love like ours never dies, it transcends, even death, so I want to have the chance to prove that theory. I want to give us a second chance and look for that happy ending that I know we both deserve. I know we’ll work—it’s always been you and me. We were meant to be, you always said it, and I want to believe it.”

“Magnus, I-”

Tears were practically cascading down Alec’s cheeks and Magnus wanted to stop them, to kiss them away, but not yet. He still had things to say.

“No, let me finish, okay?” Magnus said. “I know it won't be easy, there’s a lot of pain in our hearts, wounds that need to be healed, and things that we have to talk about to avoid more pain in the future, but I know we can do it. We’re Magnus and Alec, we practically had everything figured out even before we met. But unlike back then, when we were young and naive, and dreaming was easier, now I do have some conditions for us to try this again. First, please stop crying. You know I've never liked to see you cry, it breaks my heart. And second, you have to promise me that you won’t leave me again. I want you to promise me that you will fight for us, for what we feel, and that no matter how many obstacles life may throw at us, we’ll get through all of them—together. There’s no _'you leave and I stay'_ scenario in the cards for us anymore, we’re a package deal. If you go, I go, if I go, you come, understood?”

“I love you forever.” Alec said with a sob.

Magnus closed his eyes to keep his own tears at bay and smiled. “I love you forever too.” He said, closing the distance between them to finally kiss Alec.

And it wasn’t like in Alec’s book with the skyline of the city gleaming in the background and casting beautiful shadows on any of their faces, but it was perfect because even though it had been six long years since the last time they had been together, it was just like before. Their lips a perfect match, their breaths always in sync, and their hearts...their hearts beating as one.

 

**Epilogue**

Magnus opened the door of their home and hurried to the room. Fortunately for him, Alec was still asleep and it seemed that he hadn’t even noticed that Magnus had left the apartment to go buy something before the sun was even out. Alec had always been a heavy sleeper and, although sometimes that represented a challenge for Magnus—it was hard to wake him up when they had to leave early for whatever commitment they had—today it had actually been of great help for his plan to surprise him.

“Alexander, darling, wake up.” He whispered in Alec’s ear, but his boyfriend didn’t even budge.

Magnus smiled in adoration. They had officially been back together again for six months now and everything seemed to be working more than fine between them. They were the happiest they had ever been. They had talked, they had healed their broken hearts, and now they were building that long-awaited future together.

“Alec…” Magnus said tenderly, leaving a trail of kisses from the base of Alec’s ear to his neck—that had always been Magnus’s favorite spot: Alec’s long neck. “Wake up, sleepy head.”

Alec grumbled in his sleep.

“Come on, love, the sun is almost out, it’s time to get up.” Magnus said.

He felt giddy inside and his voice reflected it. Alec had no idea what awaited him once he opened his eyes. It was going to be a morning full of surprises—if everything went according to plan, of course.

“What time is it?” Alec asked, without opening his eyes.

“Early, but open those beautiful eyes, it’s time to get up.”

Alec opened one eye. “Why?”

“Hello, there,” Magnus smiled at the sight of his boyfriend's beautiful hazel eye, “good morning, gorgeous.”

Alec smiled back. “Good morning, gorgeous yourself. Why are you already dressed?” He asked, rubbing his eyes to get rid of sleepiness.

Magnus wasn’t fully dressed, he had just put on some sweatpants and a hoodie to run to the nearest newsstand to buy a copy—well, two—of the New York Times. Almost half an hour ago, Alec’s publicist, Underhill, had called to inform them that after only two weeks of being released to the public, Alec’s book had officially made it to the New York Times bestseller list. So instead of waking Alec up to share the news with him, Magnus had decided to run to get the newspaper and surprise his boyfriend with the actual and physical proof of his success.

“I went out.” He said.

“Why?”

“I needed to get something for us.”

“Did you bring bagels again?” Alec asked. “I moved in with you four months ago and since then I’ve gained almost ten pounds. If you keep this up, we’re going to need a bigger bed.”

“Stop saying nonsense, you’re perfect, those pounds that you say you’ve gained must have gone to your ass because I still see those abs that I get to worship every night. But now that you mention it, I wouldn’t complain about a...resizing in the other department.”

“Maybe you wouldn't, but my pants would and they will, when they don’t fit.”

“Oh no, your pants agree with me on that because you look pretty good on them, I designed them. But stop this, I have something important to show you.”

“So no bagels?”

“No, although we’re going out to have breakfast later, I already made a reservation and everything, very fancy. But anyway, I went out to get this.” He said, placing the popular newspaper on top of their bed.

“Why? You know you can download that on your phone and save some trees in the process, right?”

“I know, but this one is pretty special, so we had to have it.”

Alec frowned in confusion. “Did you make the fashion section again?” He asked.

“This isn’t about me, just open the damn thing!” Magnus exclaimed a bit exasperated.

“Did you really wake me up this early because you want me to read the newspaper?” Alec asked. “Couldn’t that have waited till at least 9 a.m.? It’s Sunday, Magnus!” He complained.

Magnus rolled his eyes and opened the newspaper right in the section where the list of best-selling books was. “There.” He said, giving Alec the newspaper. Sometimes he really wondered why he loved this man the way he did. He could be quite a headache when he so wanted to.

Alec grabbed the newspaper and started reading it, suddenly looking up at Magnus. His eyes were like two supernovas, shining so bright they were leaving the rising sun that was starting to seep through the blinds in shame.

“Congratulations!” Magnus exclaimed.

“Oh my God!”

“Another dream come true!” Magnus said. “You’re officially a best-selling author!”

Alec was looking back and forth between the newspaper and Magnus.

“I got two copies so we can frame one, so feel free to crush this one if you want, or cry on it if you feel like it, or-” Magnus didn’t get to finish what he was saying because Alec was on top of him kissing him eagerly—the newspaper crushed between them.

“Our fictional versions made it to the New York Times bestseller list!” Alec said beaming.

“I guess a fictional version of our love story does sell some books.” Magnus smiled.

Alec returned the smile and looked at the crushed newspaper again. Magnus seized the opportunity to escape Alec’s grip and stand from bed.

“Where are you going?” Alec asked with a pout. "Aren't we going to celebrate?"

“Of course we are, love, I’ll be right back, okay? Give me one second.” Magnus said, and without saying anything else, ran out of their room and went to their now shared studio. He opened a drawer in his desk and took out the copy of Alec’s book that Alec had given him six months ago and that Magnus had hidden there two weeks ago when Alec's book had been published, just waiting for this moment.

Magnus looked at the book and smiled. He was shaking, his whole body was trembling with anticipation of what he was about to do, but he took a deep breath and re-entered their room. “Would you sign this one for me?” He asked, smiling at Alec and showing him the book.

Alec rolled his eyes, but smiled, grabbing the pen he always had on his nightstand—a gift from Maryse that Alec had received almost four months ago when the latter had received her advanced copy of Alec’s first book. That day, Alec had cried for hours because that pen had meant a lot to him, not only that his mother forgave him although Alec’s decision not to continue as CEO of the family business and leave everything under Jace’s control had angered her at first, but that she supported him—and by extension his relationship with Magnus—no matter what.

“To whom should I dedicate this book? To Mr. Magnus Bane, fashion icon extraordinaire?” Alec asked playfully. “To the love of my life? To the man of my dreams? To-”

“What about to your fiance?” Magnus asked, opening the book in front of Alec to let him see that, although it was the same copy that Alec himself had given him a few months ago, it had suffered a few alterations. All the pages had been carefully glued together and now instead of a book it was some sort of box, and inside of it—and in a hole carved into the pages—was an engagement ring that Magnus had designed just for Alec. Only the last words Alec had written in his book were visible under the ring: _‘I love your forever too.’_

“Will you marry me?” Magnus asked, still shaking. He had no idea why he was so nervous about this, he was sure of what they had and how strong their love was. Six years apart and a heartbreak had proven that, but even so, the anticipation of Alec’s answer was killing him.

“So…?”

Alec was completely silent. His eyes were fixed on the ring.

“Hmmm, Alexander...I’m kind of serious over here, I-”

But he didn’t finish his sentence because, for the second time in the morning, Alec was on top of him, kissing him eagerly and pressing him against the mattress. “Yes.” He whispered between kisses. “A thousand times yes.”

Magnus smiled, taking the ring out of the book and putting it on Alec’s finger. It was a perfect fit, just like them. “I guess you’ll have to write a sequel to this book and extend our fictional love story to document this moment somehow.”

Alec shook his head smiling. “I’m not going to share that with the world, that’s just for you and me to know—and maybe our kids one day—we’ll have to embarrass them with the whole story at some point, like all responsible parents do.”

Magnus smiled and cupped Alec’s face with his hand. The rising sun that was seeping through the blinds was casting shadows on his face and Magnus couldn’t help but smile even more widely. The moment was, although completely different, also very similar to the final scene in Alec’s book, but it was even better because it was real. This was their reality and, although they had been apart for many years, Magnus was sure that the best ones were yet to come.

He could already see them in front of them. He could see himself and Alec, both walking side by side for the rest of their lives, having a family, adopting a pet or two, spending unforgettable adventures all together; and then, when they were old and tired, retiring to some cabin in the woods and spending the last days of their lives together with the occasional visit from their children and grandchildren. It was going to be a very happy life, the best life. And when everything was over and they were gone from this world, their family would talk about them and tell their story to other people, and it would be just like Alec had said in his book—the greatest love story ever told.

“I love you forever.” Magnus said.

Alec beamed.

“I love you forever too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it. They lived happily ever after. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked this story, all comments, kudos, and even bookmarks are really appreciated. Once again, happy birthday, Chris!!! I hope this little something has made you smile.
> 
> Anyway, see y'all soon for a LFY update!!!


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